Requested actions
- Be aware, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Western States Scientific Safety Review Workgroup recommend children 5–11 years old get a booster dose of Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine 5 months after completing their primary series.
- The recommendation came after Food and Drug Administration (FDA) expanded its emergency use authorization (EUA) for Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine booster doses to children 5–11 years old.
- Once CDC issues standing orders, we will begin administering at Health Department immunization sites.
- Be aware, CDC strengthened its recommendation that immunocompromised people 12 years or older and all people 50 years or older get a second booster dose 4 months after their first booster dose.
- Be aware, Washington State Department of Health (DOH) updated its standing orders for:
- Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine adult formulations (grey cap and purple cap).
- Moderna COVID-19 vaccine.
- Increase access to Evusheld COVID-19 pre-exposure prophylaxis for people 12 years or older who weigh at least 88 pounds (40 kg) and:
- Are moderately or severely immunocompromised and may not mount an adequate immune response to COVID-19 vaccine.
- Or have a history of severe allergic reactions to COVID-19 vaccine.
- To administer Evusheld, enroll in Healthcare Partner Ordering Portal (HPoP). For help, email mcm@doh.wa.gov
- To refer a patient to a provider who administers Evusheld, fax a referral to Birds Eye Medical at (360) 878-8330. Patients will be directed to a Wednesday or Friday specialty clinic at St. Francis Hospital.
Situation update
| Pierce County | Total COVID-19 cases | Total COVID-19 deaths | 7-day COVID-19 case rate | 7-day COVID-19 hospitalization rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| As of May 17, 2022 | 192,283 | 1,341 | 168.2 per 100,000 | 3.3 per 100,000 |
Pierce County COVID-19 data continue to show significant disparities by race and ethnicity, particularly affecting American Indian, Alaska Native, Black, Latinx, and Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander communities. You can see these trends on our case data dashboard.
As of April 16, 2022, Pierce County residents received about 1,574,900 total doses of COVID-19 vaccine. 66% of Pierce County residents are fully vaccinated. See our COVID-19 vaccine data dashboard for details.
Vaccine
- Clinical considerations for the use of COVID-19 vaccine, CDC.
- Clinician outreach and communication activity (COCA) call slides, CDC.
- Booster dose updates, FDA.
- EUA and FDA-approved vaccine information:
- DOH updated standing orders for COVID-19 vaccine:
- Moderna (18 years or older).
- Pfizer (12 years or older):
- COVID-19 vaccine locator, DOH.
- COVID-19 vaccine for providers, Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department.
- COVID-19 vaccine provider toolkit and resources, DOH.
- COVID-19 vaccination for providers, CDC.
- Clinical considerations for COVID-19 vaccination and guidance for managing anaphylaxis, CDC.
- COVID-19 vaccine quick reference guide for healthcare professionals, CDC.
- COVID-19 vaccine training module on best practices for providers, CDC.
- Training resources for COVID-19 vaccine providers, DOH.
- Pediatric healthcare professional COVID-19 vaccination toolkit, CDC.
- COVID-19 media toolkit to promote vaccination in children and youth, Washington Chapter American Academy of Pediatrics (WCAAP).
Testing
- K–12 test requirements to return to school.
- Antigen test guidance, CDC.
- For help with questions or accessing resources, contact epitesting@tpchd.org, (253) 649-1247 or tpchd.org/gettested.
Processing times
Labs report varying amounts of time to process COVID-19 tests. To support faster turnaround, we encourage providers to use in-state labs. The table below shows COVID-19 test processing times for in-state private labs. If you have questions about Health Department-facilitated antigen tests, contact epitesting@tpchd.org.
| Lab | Time to process test | Tests processed daily |
|---|---|---|
| FidaLab | 24 hours | 300-350 |
| Kaiser | 24–48 hours | 600 |
| LabCorp | 48–96 hours | Unknown |
| Northwest Pathology | 24–48 hours | 3,000 |
| Quest | 24–48 hours | 700 |
| UW Virology | 24–72 hours | 6,500 |
| Atlas Genomic | 24–48 hours | 10,000 |
Therapeutics
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) allocates monoclonal antibodies and oral antivirals to each state. DOH distributes doses to enrolled providers. Providers must enroll to order therapies in HPoP to manage COVID-19 therapies. For help, email mcm@doh.wa.gov.
Additional information
- COVID-19 therapeutics locator for providers, HHS.
- Therapeutics for providers page, DOH.
- Our COVID-19 treatment information for providers page.
- COVID-19 therapeutics resources, HHS.
- COVID-19 treatment guidelines, National Institutes of Health (NIH).
- Paxlovid fact sheet for healthcare providers, FDA.
- Paxlovid patient eligibility screening checklist for prescribers, FDA.
Prevention
Share with patients:
- What to do if you test positive for COVID-19, DOH.
- What to do if you were exposed to someone with COVID-19, DOH.
Reporting
- Cases in the following people—call (253) 649-1412.
- All other cases—fax the following to (253) 649-1357 or call (253) 649-1413.
- For all cases, report the person’s race, ethnicity and preferred language.
Contacting the Health Department
- Urgent issues—call (253) 649-1412.
- Non-urgent issues—call (253) 649-1413 and leave a message. Includes reporting notifiable conditions 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Leave the patient’s name, date of birth and disease.
Additional resources
- CDC COVID-19 health equity resources.
- Our COVID-19 page for healthcare providers.
- Washington COVID-19 risk assessment dashboard.
- CDC guidance for healthcare providers and facilities.
- DOH COVID-19 data dashboard.
- DOH COVID-19 page.
- CDC COVID-19 page.
- Pierce County COVID-19 response and recovery page.
- Pierce County personal protective equipment (PPE) requests.
- SARS-CoV-2 sequencing and variants in Washington.